hi all,

booga is 8 weeks old and has been with me for 2 weeks now. i handled him in the aviary so when he came home he was very comfortable with me. he let me hold him and take him out of his cage where he would have a fly and explore and walk up and down my arms. last week we had to go to the vet because he hurt his foot and while there i got the vet to clip his wings to make it easier to get him back to his cage. this last week however things have been slowly deteriorating.the first time out of his cage after the wing clip he wasnt quite sure and didnt really wander around that much after he realised he couldnt fly.it has now come to the point when he wont come out of the cage unless i actually take him out and even then i can tell he is stressed..this has now affected him inside the cage and his bond with me. while he will eat millet when offered to him by hand the moment i go near him with my hand without the millet he shrinks into himself and freezes i am very sad about this.... i know it is only early days but he went from being a very confident little budgie to a very scared little budgie and the only thing i can put it down 2 is that hes not happy with not being able to fly ( i suppose he feels very vulnerable as he would if he couldnt fly in the wild)..has anyone else experienced this behaviour???? i somehow feel responsible now and guilty and that he is somehow blaming me ...i have read in the FAQS that his wings will grow back in with his first molt??? this is still a few weeks away and i feel i am losing valuable time to train. i have been reading the taming article in FAQS but am worried that if it is his wings that are bothering him he wont be happy until they grow back therefore i will lose the bond altogether by the time this happens..can anyone offer any tips to help???? i try my hand in the cage a few times during the day but only for minutes at a time as i dont want to over stress him..perseverence is probably the key but i still cant help feel guilty that i am the cause of his stress

He will be fine trust me he just has to get used to his wings, Pretty was the same way. Animals don't like when things feel different. I know my dog Cabela, hated his new coat but after I kept it on for a week he was fine.

 

This is the case with your budgie, they will sulk in the beginning with the wing clip but I assure you in 4 days if you continue the routine you already have with him he will be just as confident if not more. Wing clips do give budgies an attitude adjustment because when they are flighted they start to get too confident and won't listen (this is for pet owners). I know this from personal experience because I did a wing clip on Merlin and was going to do another one on Pretty because I had to keep chasing him all the time to get back in the cage.,

 

As for not coming out on his own that is a GOOD thing, he should be trained to come out when you want him out. I find that if I need to open the cage door with Merlin he won't just fly out which is GOOD especially if I need to get in there for a sec. I believe them learning to come out only on command is a way to keep your budgie safe in case someone does open accidently.

 

Again, everything will be fine, Boogie will be to his old self in a couple days...don't feel bad.

he will settle in and he will be okay. my budgies Hobbes and Clarie acted the same way when they got there wings trimmed.

thanks for the reassurance guys...it is just very disheartning because it has been a week since he has been clipped and he must think i am going to take him out of his cage when i go near him so he cowers away from me i will keep trying and see how he goes...thanks again

Oh mate... he will get over it. Just keep up your rountine and it shouldn't take long. Perhaps work on him stepping up and reward him when he does it. Good luck and keep us updated!